Big Time Christmas Love
by bellaxmorte
Summary: Carlos and Candace decorate for Christmas. A fluffy story I wrote for a friend.


"Wake up, _mi __amor_," a sweet voice whispered in Candace's ear. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes to see Carlos' gorgeous face smiling down at her. He kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she said lovingly. They'd been married for three years, and they were still as in love as the day they said 'I do'. It was two weeks before Christmas and they still hadn't decorated for the holiday. They had a naked tree, but that was it.

"What do you say we deck out this place today?" Carlos asked.

"Sounds great!" Candace said happily.

Candace stretched and pulled Carlos down onto the bed with her. Carlos laughed and kissed her.

"Don't want to get up just yet?" He smiled adoringly at her.

"Noooo, its so nice and warm in here!" They cuddled in bed for another twenty minutes before Candace would drag herself out of the warm cocoon of the comforter. Candace cooked them breakfast while Carlos pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations. They ate quickly, still in their pajamas, both wanting to have fun with decorating. They loved Christmas time and all the fun things that came alone with the season.

They decided to start with everything but the tree, wanting to save that for last. Together they put out Christmas pillows, an advent calendar, and cute light up houses. They hung red and green garlands on the doorways and hung mistletoe from the ceiling. And, of course, they kissed frequently. They had to, with all that mistletoe hanging around.

After all the rest of the house was done, it was time for the tree. It did look sad undecorated. They started with colorful blinking lights, together wrapping them around the tree, and playing a bit of peek-a-boo when passing off the lights. Candace was giggling because Carlos would make cute faces at her. They moved on to ornaments, which was Carlos' favorite part.

"Remember this one?" he asked Candace. He held up a beautiful, intricately patterned ornament that they had gotten for their first Christmas together.

"Of course I do," she responded, smiling sweetly at her husband. They had dozens of cute, funny, and lovely ornaments that they had acquired over their relationship. They had a tradition of getting one special ornament every year, to celebrate another happy Christmas together. They hadn't picked one out for this year yet, and Candace made a mental note to look for one with Carlos.

All the ornaments were placed on the tree, and all that was left was the star on top. Carlos handed Candace the star, and unexpectedly picked her up. She screeched and laughed, placing the star on the top. Carlos set her down, spun her around, and kissed her with ardor. She smiled against his lips, and they broke apart. Candace took a step back and admired their tree. Carlos came up behind her.

"I hope you don't mind, but I got something." He brought a small wrapped box out from behind his back and handed it to his wife. She looked at him quizzically and opened it. She gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a gorgeous ornament, iridescent like a dragonfly's wings, with black filigree crisscrossing across the surface.

"Look at the back," Carlos said. Candace turned it over and read the inscription on the back.

_"__To __my __beautiful __wife, __Candace. __With __each __year, __my __love __for __you __grows __more __and __more. __Yours __always, __Carlos.__"_

"Carlos, this is wonderful. You're wonderful." With that, she kissed him with all the love she felt in her heart. Candace placed the ornament on the tree and stepped back into Carlos' chest. His arms wound around her waist and he kissed her cheek. Their tree was lovely.

Carlos went into the kitchen and Candace plugged in the tree. It lit up cheerily and looked even better. She curled up on the couch and Carlos walked in with two mugs. He handed one to her, sat down next to her, and she sipped the hot cocoa. Candace curled up to Carlos and they admired their handiwork. Their house looked marvelously Christmassy and they were both very happy. Carlos put his arm around her and kissed her head.

"Perfect – just like you," he said sweetly. Candace smiled, completely content. Her life was wonderful.


End file.
